The thought seemed to be infectious among the group as they climbed up Mount Nibel that day. The fog growing steady and thick. Dangerously thick.
Pharda could've sworn he'd left something behind that morning, because his travel pack felt lighter than usual, or was it because he was nervous, he wasn't all that sure.
Andomiel's mind was rather absent from the current task at hand, even though he was at the forefront of the party and keeping an eye out for wandering fiends down the cold mountainside. All he could think about at the time, was about the mirror. About what could happen.
"Would I ever betray my friends? How could I? What reason could I possibly have?"
Just as Andomiel had dark thoughts in his mind, Rose's feelings were dark as well, she could sense his feeling of insecurity.
But of all of them, perhaps Tempest felt the worst. Depression seemed to be settling in her mind, at least the part that felt any good memories for a place like this.
"What are they trying to hide? What's Strife trying to hide?" Her eyes looked down the stone road that led further north to the summit of the Mountain. It really wasn't a pretty sight.
"Hey guys...what's with all the long faces? Aren't we trying to save the world? Looking depressed like that won't help at all." Fenris. Probably the only one who would never get depressed in a situation like this, although more than likely he had been hurt more times in his lifetime than any of they had experience. Maybe he was wiser and knew what happens when you get depressed.
Maybe he knew that abyss all too well.
"Seriously, we gotta get out of this funk we're in, we can't let a stupid little hamlet hiding its stupid little secrets get us down, we've got a quest to finish!" he grinned.
"Heh, you're right, Fenris, I'm glad you spoke up." Pharda clapped him on the back.
Meanwhile...
The young ninja stared silently at the pit of the abyss gaping ahead of her, ready to swallow her, her eyes wide in fear.
"You've no place to run, little one..."
"You're right...I don't...not anymore..."
"So why don't you join us once more, we can always pay you for your services?"
The darkness behind her emplored her to sink her fangs into blood.
"You have more than enough skill, why don't you, it would be such a simple task."
"...I..."
"Why don't you? Why don't you return to us?"
Something, something not of this world took hold of her heart, something that hadn't been touched by human hands in years, perhaps, since she was born.
She proclaimed with a loud voice, "I am no longer your slave...I have a new master! Go back to your filthy pit where you belong!"
"It's such a pity to hear you say that, you know...we really could use you...now we have no choice."
"I see...I won't make it easy for you...any of you...you'll all pay."
"So be it...I was hoping you'd say that..." The darkness grinned, bearing its fangs.
Performing a full frontal flip towards her persuers, she drew her Masamune mid air, and cut a swath through the darkness of invisible blades meant for her head.
Claws and all manner of sharp objects reached for her...clamored and hungered for her...but she kept moving, jumping, swaying, dodging, ducking. Never giving them respite, never fulfilling their wish of death.
Her body moved almost of its own volition, ducking, weaving, and dodging, perhaps a living shadow, perhaps a living weapon. It did not matter. Her life was at stake, and evading her pursuers was of the utmost importance.
"Why do you run away, you know it's useless to resist us?"
A voice taunted in the dark, a voice she recognized to be her old mentor, before she had ever met Sephiroth, back when her days were filled with nothing but cold blood.
"I flee because I'm sick of killing!" she quickly parried a series of deadly blows. "I'm sick of the meaningless death you've trained me as a child for!" Her grief seemed to show through her mask.
"Are you really so desperate to stop killing? Why do you fight us now? Why not accept fate and die?" the voice continued to extricate her feelings and her concentration from the battle she was forced to fight.
"Why don't I just give up?"
Tempest, despite her boasts earlier about how healthy it was to climb the Mountains of Nibelheim, felt really winded as they had reached the summit.
"I'm sorry? What was that you were saying? Miss, 'Climbing Mountains is good exercise'?" Fenris teased.
"I guess I've lost my touch." she shrugged sadly, at which Fenris smirked and grunted emphatically.
"Now really isn't the time to be starting arguments, Fenris, it doesn't matter that she isn't exactly 100% in shape to climb this mountain, what is important is that we are all able to." Andomiel chided him.
"You know I'm only kidding, guys, right?" he said meekly.
"Yeah, well, I doubt any of us are in any mood for your humor," Urd scolded as she stoked the fire they had set up.
"Everybody's a critic...man..." Fenris sighed.
Pharda brushed the dust off his pack, "It's getting late as it is guys, we'll need to camp out up here...Rose, do me a favor and keep the Fire going with a spell or two tonight, it's gonna be cold up here."
"Will do, Pharda,"
"Come daybreak, it shouldn't be hard to find the Wind Shrine among the caves around her, guys, so I don't think we'll have to stay up here any longer than we have to."
"But why do I feel like something bad's going to happen tomorrow?"
